Saturday, April 19, 2008

A Matter of Sound

I was recently asked how I would describe my voice to someone who had never heard it. My response was which voice? My speaking voice or the internal voice that defines me? I would be at a loss to describe my speaking voice, because I never listen to myself speak. For all I know, I could sound like a two-pack-a-day, twenty-year-long smoker, though I've never smoked a cigarette in my life.

But that other voice is the one that most interests me. I would say it is a hurricane, but that might just be an avoidance of the actuality. I feel as if I am constantly in danger of slipping into the voice of someone else. How do I avoid doing so?

This is what I am trying to say: My lines write the melody, so please stop trying to cross over them.